Uehara Naraku is truly a pitfall!
Right now, even before Orochimaru has been resurrected from Ryuchi Cave, Uehara Naraku has already prepared everything in advance for him, even pre-arranging how Orochimaru is going to die.
Uehara Naraku is really meticulous in his work.
He arranged everything for Orochimaru down to the last detail.
From Orochimaru's resurrection in Ryuchi Cave, obtaining the strongest bloodline in the Ninja World, reaching the pinnacle of life, launching a Ninja World War, being found and defeated by the righteous Uehara Naraku, buried into the ground, a grave set up...
Yakushi Kabuto didn't know what to say, truly unsure how devastated Orochimaru will feel once he resurrects… Uehara Naraku is going to pit Orochimaru to death!
This is much more exciting than when he framed Shimura Danzo back in the day...
Yakushi Kabuto sighed helplessly and accepted Uehara Naraku's orders: "Yes, Lord Naraku, I understand. During the Five Kage Summit, I will attend in the name of Lord Orochimaru, and there announce the initiation of a Ninja World War…"
"Then let's see your performance."
Uehara Naraku's voice sounded happy, he continued with a smile: "I will personally participate in the Five Kage Summit, so I hope you protect your own safety..."
"…Yes."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded helplessly.
After a while, Yakushi Kabuto suddenly continued: "Lord Naraku, we still seem to have a pawn we haven't used yet, Uchiha Itachi…"
"No rush."
Uehara Naraku pondered for a moment, then continued in a low voice: "In any case, we cannot easily let Uchiha Itachi escape our control. We need to choose an appropriate opportunity for Uchiha Itachi to meet Uzumaki Naruto to eliminate the threat of Kotoamatsukami Sharingan…"
"Yes."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded and suddenly grinned: "Should we take Sasuke along to the Five Kage Summit this time?"
"Why would you bring him? To send him to his death?"
Uehara Naraku slightly couldn't understand what Yakushi Kabuto meant, he would casually praise Uchiha Sasuke in front of anyone, could it be that even Yakushi Kabuto thought Sasuke was that powerful?
Is he dumb?
Uchiha Sasuke going to the Five Kage Summit is purely to court death!
Yakushi Kabuto sighed, adjusted his glasses, and chuckled: "Then let Sasuke stay here and guard the Eight-tailed. Poor little guy, he still thinks Lord Naraku is a friend of Uchiha Itachi, and still cherishes Lord Naraku's care for him…"
After saying that, Yakushi Kabuto continued to laugh: "I have no doubt that once I replace Sasuke's eyes with Uchiha Itachi's, he will immediately kill me and present my head to Lord Naraku!"
"..."
Uehara Naraku fell into thought for a moment, then nodded and said: "Then let Sasuke stay for now! I need to think about how to use this…"
Really unexpected.
The story Uehara Naraku made up at the time, made Uchiha Sasuke fully believe that he was a friend of Uchiha Itachi, now that's absurd.
"…Mm."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded with a peculiar expression.
In the Hidden Rain Village.
Uehara Naraku quietly lowered his finger.
If nothing goes wrong, this Five Kage Summit which he will participate in is sure to be very exciting, but unfortunately, it's missing that Fifth-and-Half Hokage, Shimura Danzo.
It's a bit regrettable...
Konan also prepared their luggage, sealing all the items they needed to take within a scroll, as she believed the Five Kage Summit would surely convene for quite some time.
"Are you ready?"
Uehara Naraku glanced at Konan stepping out of the room, a hint of a smile on his face: "It's been a while since we went on a mission together, Teacher Konan…"
"Mm."
Konan nodded, brushing her hair aside, reached out and held Uehara Naraku's finger, and softly said: "Let's go!"
"…I need to perform hand seals."
Uehara Naraku looked innocently at Konan. Watching her let go of his hand, he slowly completed a summoning seal.
In the next moment, the roar of an Ancient Giant Dragon echoed in the sky, with the enormous creature hovering above the steel and concrete of the Hidden Rain Village!
The two of them mounted the Ancient Giant Dragon, and the vast summoning beast flapped its wings, soaring towards the direction of the Land of Iron!
Land of Iron.
This is the most famous neutral country in the Ninja World.
A long time ago, ninjas publicly declared not to wage war against the Land of Iron, but to regard it as a permanently neutral realm of peace.
This country has no ninjas.
The armed forces within the Land of Iron are samurai capable of battling ninjas.
These samurai mostly can use chakra to unleash powerful kenjutsu, their strength is considerable, which qualifies them to maintain neutrality.
The leading samurai chief among them is named Mifune.
It is said that this leader Mifune once faced off against Hanzo of the Salamander from The Hidden Rain Village but was defeated by Hanzo's swordsmanship and poison. However, Hanzo considered Mifune to have potential, so he spared his life.
Recently, the capital of the Land of Iron has been on high alert.
Because the Five Kage Summit is about to take place here, as the host, Mifune naturally is responsible for ensuring the smooth conduct of the Summit. Thus, he has sent many samurai in advance to prevent any disturbances.
The first person to arrive in the Land of Iron is Konoha's Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Unsurprisingly, her escorts for the Five Kage Summit are Jiraiya and Shizune.
Protecting Tsunade is also Jiraiya's commitment.
Moreover, Jiraiya is one of the people who knows Orochimaru best, and he is well aware of the intelligence regarding Orochimaru, Yakushi Kabuto, and Uchiha Obito; in addition, Jiraiya has a relatively close relationship with The Hidden Rain Village.
Therefore, Jiraiya is the most suitable person to accompany her.
As for Shizune, she is mainly there as an aide, responsible for taking care of Tsunade, and occasionally to remind Konoha's Fifth Hokage to mind her ethical boundaries.
After all, the Land of Iron is not like their Konoha. It would be terrible if Tsunade embarrassed herself at the Five Kage Summit...
Shizune is really overthinking.
Back at the first Five Kage Summit, the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, performed poorly, losing all face for Konoha... The God of Ninja, for the sake of so-called peace, even humbly lowered himself in front of the other nations' leaders.
I apologize to all of you, let's put this matter behind us.
How could someone like Senju Hashirama say such words!
Even the current Tsunade would never do such a thing; she prides herself on being strong and dignified but doesn't particularly care about saving face for others.
On the way to the Land of Iron, Fifth Hokage Tsunade kept pondering one question: how to mediate the conflict between The Hidden Rain Village and other major nations. She wanted to wait for Uehara Naraku to arrive and persuade him to lower his stance a bit.
For instance, having Uehara Naraku bow his head to the assembled Kage, showing an extremely humble attitude, then she could smooth things over, and the matter would pass...
Even Uzumaki Naruto from Konoha thought this way.
Because Uchiha Sasuke had also been involved in the invasions of three major ninja villages, Uzumaki Naruto wanted them to forgive Uchiha Sasuke and was willing to bow his head to those Kage...
Isn't this utterly ridiculous!
The second person to arrive is the Fifth Kazekage of The Hidden Sand Village, Gaara, accompanied by his brother Kankuro and sister Temari, mainly because The Hidden Sand Village doesn't have any other suitable candidates for the occasion.
The third to arrive is Terumi Mei from The Hidden Mist Village, bringing with her only a favored young fellow, Chojuro, and an Anbu. The Hidden Mist Village's lack of successors has reached its peak, and in terms of young talents, it's even worse than The Hidden Sand Village.
There's really no helping it.
Because all the talented ninjas in their village have defected to Uehara Naraku, the Seven-swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist are all in Akatsuki.
Terumi Mei attended the Five Kage Summit also hoping to resolve this matter, at the very least get Uehara Naraku to hand over those defectors from the Seven-swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist, or if not, to relinquish those ninja blades with special abilities.
Over the years, The Hidden Sand Village and The Hidden Mist Village have been allies, observing each other and standing together with Konoha. Hence, Tsunade accompanied Mifune to welcome them, hoping to strengthen their cooperation at the Five Kage Summit.
Tsunade crossed her arms, lowered her voice, and said, "The most important thing about holding the Five Kage Summit this time is to come together to address the threat posed by Orochimaru and his group. At the appropriate moment, we can make concessions, but not without limits..."
"Yes, the safety of the Ninja World is what's paramount."
Gaara nodded and said softly, "As long as the Third Tsuchikage and Fourth Raikage aren't too excessive..."
"As long as it doesn't harm the interests of The Hidden Mist Village, I don't mind."
Terumi Mei sighed and said softly, "I just hope we can deliver the deserved punishment to The Hidden Rain Village and Akatsuki, and that we can recover our losses..."
"..."
Tsunade immediately furrowed her brows.
What Terumi Mei proposed isn't wrong. Surely The Hidden Rain Village and Akatsuki can't go unpunished after all the wrongs they've done, right?
The key issue is...
The Hidden Rain Village and Akatsuki aren't the defeated!
Strictly speaking, this so-called victory was actually a concession made by The Hidden Rain Village and Akatsuki. The power of those S-Class traitorous ninjas in Akatsuki isn't weak... If we push Uehara Naraku and his people too far, won't we just create another enemy?
With Orochimaru still coveting the Tailed Beasts, Uehara Naraku's forces, who can rival and even overwhelmingly defeat any of the major ninja villages, would again become our enemy...
What's the point of even fighting then!
"Mizukage, I understand your point."
Tsunade softly shook her head and said, "I'll try my best to persuade Uehara Naraku to make concessions for the forthcoming crisis we must face... But this doesn't mean we can back him into continuous retreat; sometimes, mutual compromise is necessary."
"I understand of course."
Terumi Mei touched her finger to her lips and said softly, "Even if we were willing to let it go, the Third Tsuchikage from The Hidden Rock Village and the Fourth Raikage from The Hidden Cloud Village wouldn't easily let Akatsuki and Uehara Naraku off, would they?"
In front of the Third Tsuchikage and Fourth Raikage, Uehara Naraku took the Tailed Beasts from their villages, causing significant casualties and directly demolishing The Hidden Cloud Village and The Hidden Rock Village!
That stubborn old man, the Third Tsuchikage, and the hot-headed Fourth Raikage, how could they possibly let Uehara Naraku go!
"Sigh..."
Tsunade sighed, looking at the figures floating in the air, her eyes slightly dark, "I hope they understand! That brat Uehara is not a war criminal to be trampled upon, he's in control of a power that can change the situation!"